B004D4Y20I EBOK (62 page)

‘You should have more confidence,’ he said, smiling. ‘I mean it, you’re gorgeous. I want to see you.’

They lay together on the bed and kissed again, taking their time, allowing their blood to come slowly back to the boil, exciting each other with the stroking and nibbling of their exploratory kisses. He returned to her breasts, kissing each one in turn, circling the nipples with his thumb and making her sigh with pleasure at the sensations he was creating. Then he trailed his fingers lightly down over her stomach to her panties, rubbing his fingertips along their edge until he suddenly slipped them inside and into the short bush of her pubic hair. She shivered uncontrollably as his fingers touched her clitoris, and then slid down to explore the wetness below.

Her muscles tensed and she kissed him harder, rubbing her hands over his chest, touching his small hard nipples and grasping the firmness of his biceps. He left her for a moment to take her hand and guide it to his cock, which was now fully engorged, pressed flat against his stomach. She wrapped her fingers
round
it, moving the soft skin gently up and down, then pulling her hand over the velvety head. He moaned softly. For long, appreciative minutes, they played with each other until Tara thought she could not stand it much longer. The sexual passion he was igniting in her flared up, taking control of her. She rolled over and moved downwards to kiss his cock and take its head in her mouth, sliding her tongue over the top of it and tickling the tiny slit. Then she straddled his legs, pressing her chest down on the stiff rod of his penis, moving up and down on top of it. He moaned and his breaths sharpened until he could obviously take no more and pulled her upwards until her own hot sex met his and she instinctively felt him urge her to move her hips, rubbing against him with short, fast strokes.

He watched her, his tongue flicking out to lick his lips, breathing hard.

‘Do you have a condom?’ she asked breathlessly.

He nodded quickly, rolled to one side and collected a small packet from the bedside table. She moved off him to allow him to slide it quickly on, then returned. She put a leg on either side of him and raised herself up. Then she grasped his penis, pulling it away from his stomach until it pointed upwards, and lowered herself down on to it, moving as slowly as she could, savouring every sensation as the tip pushed against her and then found its way into her depths. She felt herself stretch around his thick girth, and the exquisite sense of being filled up as she sank down until their pelvises were pressed together. Then she began
to
thrust up and down, slowly at first, and then faster and faster. His hips moved more powerfully as they found their rhythm and his face contorted with the pleasure she was giving him. The more they fucked, the more she could take and she urged him on, to push into her harder and harder. She sensed his climax approaching and began to grind down, so that his pubic bone pressed against her clitoris, sending her towards the orgasm she could feel building inside. As she rode him, he slipped his hand to her mound, finding her clit with his thumb and rubbing it with sure, swift strokes that matched his own thrusts into her. They saw the peak approaching in each other’s eyes and that sent them both whirling towards their climaxes, both crying out with the extraordinary ferocity of pleasure that possessed them.

She fell forward on to his chest and he wrapped his arms around her until they had both recovered sufficiently to speak.

‘Oh my God,’ she said breathlessly. ‘That was amazing.’ She looked at him, her eyes astonished. ‘
You
were amazing.’

‘It might not all be to my credit,’ he said modestly. ‘They say the high altitude increases the intensity of physical sensation.’

‘Really?’ Tara kissed his chest. ‘Well, there’s only one thing for it, then. As soon as we land, we’ll just have to do it all over again.’

54

THE PHONES IN
the Trevellyan offices were ringing off the hook. The news had broken that Neave was the face of
Tea Rose
. At her Bond girl press conference, she had obligingly announced it, guaranteeing maximum exposure.

‘This year is so excitin’ for me,’ she told the roomful of eager journalists. ‘I’m gonna be a Bond girl,
and
the face of the sexy new scent from Trevellyan,
Tea Rose
. My agent once said that she wished she could take whatever it is I have and put it in a bottle. Now someone has. It’s the most wonderful fragrance: fresh, romantic and incredibly feminine.’

The press duly wrote it all down and printed it. The newspapers and magazines started calling the next day, with beauty editors begging for samples and promising wonderful puff pieces if they could get an exclusive with Neave or the Trevellyan sisters, or even better, with all of them.

Jemima released some pictures of the photo shoot
as
teasers, to get anticipation building for the launch of
Tea Rose
. They were published everywhere. It seemed that the public really couldn’t get enough of Neave – any shot of her was gold dust. Little phials of
Tea Rose
in nude-pink boxes, accompanied by a stylish booklet of portraits of Neave, the Trevellyan sisters and the whole extraordinary, glamorous story of a perfume loved for generations, forgotten, and then born anew for modern women. The press lapped it up.

The brand new
Tea Rose
mini-site was being designed, while the tired old Trevellyan website, not much more than information for trade customers, was being completely overhauled in the beautiful new company colours and fonts. A virtual tour of the renovated shop and treatment rooms was designed to showcase the fresh, modern look and entice the high-end customers in to try for themselves everything on offer. Gift packages and hampers were available to order online, stuffed with Trevellyan goodies, for friends, family or corporate clients.

The shop itself was almost ready to open, its new staff trained in using the gorgeous French skin products scented with Trevellyan fragrances.

‘I’ll never have to go anywhere else,’ Jemima declared. ‘How frightfully convenient – my beautician right below the office.’

‘And if your plans come to fruition, you’ll have your personal spa at home in the country as well,’ Poppy pointed out.

‘Mmm, yes, won’t that be nice!’ Jemima smiled. ‘It all depends how the finances work out. We’ll see, as
Mother
used to say. I want to discuss it with Tara. She’s back in the office this afternoon, isn’t she?’

Poppy nodded. ‘I think she’s going to be so impressed with what we’ve achieved in such a short time. The whole campaign is virtually ready.’

‘Let’s hope she has good news for us as well,’ Jemima said. ‘If she hasn’t managed to pull off a distribution deal, it could still all go wrong.’

‘But we’ve got Neave now. She’s so big in the States, it’s bound to work in our favour.’

‘I hope so, Pops. I really do.’

They were assembled in the boardroom when Tara arrived: Jemima, Poppy and Donna, all looking serious and businesslike. It seemed like an age since the sisters had sat there, bewildered by the industry they had been unwillingly thrust into. Now they appeared thoroughly at home in the boardroom, in charge of the tasks they had been entrusted with and confident of their product’s imminent success.

Tara walked in, smiling, looking smart but decidedly feminine in a dark blue Vivienne Westwood skirt and white, short-sleeved blouse with a dark blue ribbon belt tied round her waist in a bow. ‘Hi, everyone. Great to see you all.’

‘You too.’ Jemima raised her eyebrows. ‘You look perky.’

‘Yes. I feel perky. For the first time in a long time, I feel bloody fantastic, if you must know. My trip to New York was very interesting and very productive.’ She sat down and put her laptop case on the table.
‘I’ve
got some good news.’ She looked at each of them in turn, building the anticipation. ‘We have a US partner.’

Donna clapped her hands, smiling broadly. ‘Yeah!’ she exclaimed. ‘That’s fantastic news, well done, Tara! What’s the deal?’

‘We’re going to sell a five-year licence for a very, very healthy sum of money indeed, and we’re going to work in partnership with our new licensee to expand the brand all over the world, not just in the States. We’ll retain complete control over the formula, marketing concepts and creative direction, though we will work together with our new partner to fine-tune our ideas for particular markets. At the end of five years, we can reassess the partnership, and relicense, if that’s what we want to do.’

‘Wow!’ breathed Jemima. ‘That’s wonderful. Well done, Tara.’

‘It lets you two off the hook a little. Poppy …’ Tara turned to her. ‘You don’t have to go through with the sale of Loxton’s contents, if you don’t want to. I know the house is gone, but we can still keep what was inside.’

Poppy smiled. ‘I’m glad we’ve solved the problem but I don’t think I want to keep all that stuff. I’ve really said my goodbyes to most of it all ready. And what would we do with it? I think I’d prefer to let it go and then decide what’s to be done with the money. It can’t hurt to have a little financial security, can it?’

‘No. You’re right. It’s good to feel free of it all, isn’t it? And Jemima, it looks like you can keep Eaton
Square
after all. I’m planning to look afresh at our financial structure and salary arrangements in the new year. Then you should be in a position to maintain it.’

Jemima smiled. ‘You know what? I feel like Poppy. I’ve said my goodbyes. It’s time to move on with my life. My future lies with Harry now, and I think I should finally give up my bachelorette pad. Besides, I’ve earmarked the money for other things. Harry and I will probably buy a little flat in London some time, but I want to develop a Trevellyan spa and restaurant at Herne. And Harry still needs money for the Great Hall and a dozen other things, so –’

‘You’re selling your flat and putting the money into Herne?’ Tara said disbelievingly. ‘Have I come back to the same planet I left last week? And what’s all this about a Trevellyan spa – I mean, it sounds fantastic. What’s it all about?’

‘I’ll tell you later. I’ve got some wonderful plans, you’ll love them.’

Donna interrupted, too impatient to wait. ‘But Tara, you haven’t told us – who is the new partner?’

‘Oh, yes, I was just coming to that.’ Tara stood up gracefully and went to the boardroom door. She opened it, stood aside and announced, ‘Ladies, may I introduce our new licensee and partner – Richard Ferrera.’

On cue, Richard walked into the room, looking suave in a Jermyn Street suit, red silk tie and handmade Church’s brogues, a broad smile on his face. ‘Good afternoon, ladies. It is my total pleasure to be here.’

The others gaped at him, unable to say anything until the shock of seeing Richard Ferrera in the Trevellyan boardroom had been absorbed.

‘What’s he doing here?’ demanded Jemima, finding her tongue at last.

Tara held up her hand for calm. ‘I told you, he’s our new partner.’

‘How can he be?’ asked Poppy, horrified. ‘He’s Jecca’s partner! We all saw them together at Spencer House. That means Jecca has won after all. Tara, how could you?’

‘Wait, wait, you don’t understand.’ Tara turned to Ferrera. ‘Richard, you’d better explain.’

‘Of course.’ He sat down and faced the suspicious faces opposite him. ‘First, I’d better tell you that Jecca Farnese and I have no further relationship, business or otherwise. In fact, in about twenty minutes, she’ll be escorted from my apartment in Kensington by two large security guards. She’ll be allowed to take her personal possessions but nothing more. Her access to FFB and any information she has stored on company hardware ceases immediately.’

There was a pause as they imagined how Jecca would react to this scenario, and the atmosphere in the room lightened considerably.

‘Isn’t that just going to enrage her further?’ Poppy asked. ‘And make her even more determined to take us to court and fight for her share of the company?’

Ferrera nodded. ‘As I understand it, Jecca has tried to cover every eventuality with her case. She claims that, as well as being an adopted Trevellyan, she is
also
your father’s natural daughter. Tara has told me that she’s even made allegations of a sexual relationship, as though that will reinforce her claim to a kind of compensation in the form of a share of the company. It’s distasteful to talk about, of course, but we have to face the reality of it. Jecca is certainly not afraid to stand up in court and lie. But I think she’s made a classic mistake. She’s put too many ingredients into her wicked spell.’

‘In England, we might say she’s overegged the pudding,’ added Jemima.

Ferrera smiled. ‘A good expression. Of course, the best-laid plans can go awry, we all know that. And the first rule of deception must be that you never commit your plans to paper.’ Ferrera pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. ‘So I guess Jecca is about to feel very, very sorry that she wrote me this letter.’ He unfolded the paper and smoothed it. ‘Allow me to read you the relevant part.’ He scanned the bold, dark handwriting and then began. ‘“The silly old man always did whatever I asked, he was my slave. Everyone knew it. He felt so guilty over what he’d done to my parents that nothing was enough to make it up to me, he did anything I wanted. I can use this to my advantage when it comes to the crunch. There’s no one to contradict whatever I choose to say happened between us.”’

They waited for more and when there was none, Jemima said in a disappointed voice, ‘So she doesn’t actually say that she’s going to lie about a sexual relationship.’

‘No. That would be a little too neat.’ Ferrera looked
over
at her seriously. ‘But it throws a serious doubt on her claims. And what victim ever called her abuser her slave and a silly old man? It’s got to undermine her case.’

‘Do you think there’s the slightest chance it could be true?’ Poppy asked fearfully. ‘If she really were abused by Daddy … well, I couldn’t live with myself if we dismissed it as lies.’

Ferrera leaned forward and stared her straight in the eye. ‘I honestly believe she made it up. She told me a great deal of her sexual history, with much relish. She told me that she lost her virginity at sixteen to a boy who was not much older. At no point did she ever mention a sexual relationship with your father. I know Jecca. She has no inhibitions. She would most certainly have told me if it were true.’ He sat back and took a deep breath. ‘My own theory is that she’s come up with this story to divert attention from something else: the fact that she was never legally adopted as a Trevellyan.’